How to be a Lady
by TheRaven801
Summary: Elizabeth is the perfect daughter of the Kirkland family. She is as delicate and as meek as a lady should be. That is, until she met Alfred Jones, who has come to get his education. Jones proves to be a rough and rowdy American boy, always pulling Elizabeth into some kind of trouble. What is she to do? Especially when she falls in love with him! Oh, what a disaster this is!
1. Chapter 1

Elizabeth looked out from her window, watching her father's brother leave the home in his carriage. She had just turned down yet another marriage proposal at her mother's will. Not that she wanted to marry the boy; he was her cousin! It was vulgar and scandalous to the young Englishwoman. At the age of sixteen in the year 1864, she had a lot on her shoulders to be a prim and proper woman. She had debuted to the queen when she was thirteen and had made quite the impression on a good number of men. But who couldn't be impressed when she had such porcelain skin, beautiful green eyes, silky blonde hair, and pink lips? Yes, she truly was a beautiful young woman: the crowned jewel of the family. With a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue, thanks to her father, Elizabeth was extremely intelligent and even had a beautiful singing voice. Her poise was perfect and her embroidery was without flaws.

"Miss, the master wishes for you presence," a maid, Judy, broke the silence behind her. Elizabeth gave the elderly woman a smile and nodded, turning away from the window.

"Yes, of course. Thank you for informing me, Judy," Elizabeth said before walking towards her father's study. Once inside, she smile brightly at the sight of the aging man. "Hello Father. You called for me?"  
"Ah, yes, Elizabeth! Come here, my child, I have something to tell you! We are going to be visited by a young man from America! He is here to study and learn about business. Now, his mother and yours were childhood friends and so he shall be staying with us. I wished to inform you to make sure you approve of such a thing. You will always be supervised and have an escort with you, so there is no need to worry if he is a vivacious young man," the Lord Benedict Kirkland told Elizabeth cheerfully. The happy tone her father had made her smile, nodding at the information.

"Yes, of course, Father. It is for his education and therefor he must get any opportunity to receive top-notch education," Elizabeth said softly, earning her father a chuckle.

"Yes, of course, my dear! No education is better than the one here in England, I must say so myself. And there is one other thing. He might be a potential suitor. Your mother has fantasised about this moment for years. So do not be surprised if she expects you to fall in love the moment you see him," he said.

"Of course not, Father. I shall only accept a suitor if the Lord grants it and tells me through my heart that he approves," she replied easily, "but may I ask, what is his name?"

"That's my girl! Always listening to the good lord's will! Just like the protestant you were raised to be," he said brightly before sobering up. "To answer your question, Elizabeth, he is from the Jones's family. Do you remember them? Or at least their letters?" He paused for a moment as Elizabeth nodded silently. "Good. Well, he is their eldest son, the eldest of twins I may add, and had already proven to be quite the young man. His name is Alfred. Alfred Frederick Jones."


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Elizabeth was in the parlour with her mother, having a rather pleasing conversation with her about a new book the pair had just read. They were interrupted by a maid, unfortunately, who said that Mr. Kirkland had requested his wife. So Elizabeth was left to her thoughts, alone in the parlour. Her mind drifted off to that very day, when Alfred F. Jones would arrive. She wondered what kind of character he'd be; hopefully a good one or else Elizabeth would be obliged to reject any courting attempts by him. Sighing, she stood up from her chair and smoothed out her dress before walking out of the parlour. She walked to the piano room-playing it always did make her relaxed. She sat down on the piano stool and closed her eyes, letting her fingers fly over the keys gracefully. Softly, she began to sing along with her playing. Elizabeth's voice carried throughout the room, making it echo and sound angelic rather than just good. She slowly finished off her song and smiled to herself, feeling a wave of pride at being able to sing and play. She was startled, however, when someone began clapping. Jumping up, she pressed a hand to her chest as she stared at the man clapping.

"Ah, wow! You were fantastic! Absolutely brilliant! I haven't heard many girls who can sing and play like you," he praised, his blue eyes sparkling as he grinned easily. "You have a real talent, ma'am."

'Ah,' Elizabeth thought as she slowly calmed down, 'this must be Mr. Jones. Mr. Alfred F. Jones.' She was able to get a good look at him now and was a bit surprised at how charming he looked. With straw-blonde hair, blue eyes, a pearly white smile, and tan skin, he looked more like a fairy-tale prince than anything. Feeling a blush cover her cheeks, Elizabeth shook her head. "Ah, thank you, sir," she said before taking a small step towards him. "Are you Alfred F. Jones, if I may ask? Forgive me for being rude, but I was rather startled by you coming in."

The man grinned and nodded, walking over to her in a few strides. "Yup, that's me! And you must be Elizabeth! It's nice to met you," he said brightly before taking her hand and kissing her knuckles, earning him a bright blush on her cheeks.

"Y-Yes, that's me but.." She trailed off, retracting her hand from his hold. It wasn't proper for a gentleman to take a lady's hand when introducing themselves! Bowing gently, she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." That's better.

Alfred let out a laugh and he waved his hand. "Come on, enough with that! There are no adults here, we can be as free as we want!"

"P-Pardon? We most certainly cannot, sir! I will not take part in any.. Unsightly acts!" Elizabeth protested, taking a step backwards. Alfred just rolled his eyes and grabbed her hands, pulling her towards the middle of the room with a laugh.

"Come on, Elizabeth! Lighten up, have a little fun," he said loudly, spinning them around in circles and ignoring her pleads for him to stop.

"E-Enough of this Alfred!" She shouted as she finally yanked her hands away from him. "I will do no such thing! I am a lady! Now please, just.. Just leave me to practise. Please"


	3. Chapter 3

Alfred stared at Elizabeth in shock at her outburst, finding it completely shocking. One moment, she had been a serene lady, and the next she had cried in anger and was struggling to keep her temper under control. The thought made him do a lopsided grin that both charmed and frightened Elizabeth's heart. He knew he was getting into something fun.

"Alright. On one condition," he said, holding up a gloved finger.

"Yes?" Elizabeth asked cautiously, holding her hands close to her heart.

"You let me listen."

"What? Why would you want to listen?"  
"Because you sound so pretty! Oh, won't you let me listen?"

Elizabeth was at a loss for words. She truly did not expect him to beg her to play nor did she expect him to be so insistent. Letting out a rather undignified sound, she nodded slowly before stiffly making her way over to the piano. Alfred let out a whoop before rushing forward to help her sit down on the bench, to which Elizabeth thanked him for. Then, setting her hands on the keys, she began to play. As she played, Alfred grew silent, watching her in awe as she sang along to the piano's melody. Elizabeth didn't know it, but-at that moment-the American wasn't envisioning them in her family's mansion but in their own as their children danced and laughed to the music. He was under a spell caused by her elegance and grace.

Elizabeth let her eyes flutter shut as she played, feeling everything around her melt away. Everything except the young man standing beside her, that is. She could feel his eyes on her face. Elizabeth grew flustered and, to help her focus on the music more, let her face fall forward. She felt herself growing bolder and slowly switched the song from an old, English folk song to a more modern, romantic song. She flushed a bit under the implications that she was singing about but hearing Alfred's quiet gasp made the move worth it. Once she reached the end of the song, Elizabeth heard her voice ring throughout the room. Looking up at Alfred, she felt startled to find him gaping at her.

"Ah… Are you alright?" She asked him, laying her hands in her lap. Alfred blinked, as if startled himself before his cheeks grew pink.

"Oh, yes! Yes, I'm okay," he laughed nervously before taking a step towards her. "What song was that?"

"Oh, that was-"

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, where are you?" A voice pierced through the air, cutting the girl off. Blinking, she smiled apologetically and stood up, giving him a small small bow.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Alfred," she said, looking up at him, "but I am afraid I must bid you farewell for now."

And with that, he was left alone in the room. Alfred stared at the door she had left from before letting out a breath.

"Wow…" He murmured, smiling crookedly. He had never felt so glad to make a choice before. Coming to England was definitely the right thing to do. There was no doubt in mind that he would have fun bothering the young lady. Alfred found her amusing and knew that Elizabeth, when rilled up, would be nothing except exciting. He couldn't wait to see what she did next. The American couldn't wait to get under the English lady's skin even more.


	4. Chapter 4

_4.) A lady must always be gracious and kind_

Later that evening, after dinner was eaten, Elizabeth found herself seated in the parlour with her mother as her father and Alfred spoke in the study. It was a bit tiring listen to her mother ramble on about how charming Alfred seemed, but Elizabeth did not show her displeasure. Instead, she added small comments when it was deemed necessary. It was nice to see her mother with such a happy face, but she couldn't help but wonder about the reason behind the elder's glee.

Alfred had proved himself to be quite polite and formal when her parents were around, she had noticed during dinner. But his unseemly actions while they were alone made it seem a fraud. As they dined, she found herself observing the lad more and more. He was certainly comely in the lighting of the gaslamp, but that wasn't all that she could focus on. The more their eyes connected, the more Elizabeth questioned her original judgement of his character.

But who was to say other than time? Elizabeth was never fond of time; it took too much.. Well, time! She liked knowing things in that moment, and she often found herself keeping control of herself to stay calm when time was finicky. She wished she had the ability to speed up time; that would be capital.

"Oh, Elizabeth! I can just imagine you in a few years time as a mother! You must have mercy on my soul, child, for I have such longing to see you married," her mother said suddenly, surprising Elizabeth out of her musings about time.

"Mother..!" She cried, embarrassed. The woman just laughed and waved her away.

"I'm just teasing, child. Go relax; it has been a very exciting day. Have a walk in the garden, if you will."

"I.. Will. Thank you, Mother." Standing up, Elizabeth pressed a short kiss to her mother's cheek and walked outside, not forgetting to fetch her coat, gloves, or hat of course. Walking among the flowers that adorned the hedges she passed, the Englishwoman was able to just relax and be happy. There was no Alfred nor any other suitor to worry about in the flowers. Instead, it was just beauty and delicacy. Closing her eyes, she sat herself down on a stone bench and smiled. Everything seemed right in the world during that moment…. Right? But what if it wasn't? What if.. Elizabeth wasn't alone in the gardens? Only time would tell.

* * *

Whoop whoop, I am here with yet another late update! But the questions at the end are questions to you all! What _if_ something wasn't right? What _if_ she wasn't alone? What will happen? Who might appear? Only time will tell.


	5. Author's Note

Well! It has certainly been quite a bit since I've come on. I'm sorry about that! BUT! Since I am now done with school and have almost nothing going on, I will be updating this somewhat soon! So sorry about the sudden drop in updates!


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